2. The China Earthquake

In 2008, tweets from China alerted the world to the region's severe earthquake, before the United States Geological Survey had a chance to comment. Blogger Robert Scoble helped spread the news by retweeting reports from people on the ground, before the traditional media could get a hold of the story.

My sources say Whitney Houston found dead in Beverly hills hotel.. Not in the news yet!!

5. Newt Gingrich's Presidential Race Announcement

Newt Gingrich announced he would be seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. president via social media. Prior to a TV interview in which he detailed his plans, a tweet and Facebook post went live, revealing his intentions.

The tragic news about the Boston Marathon bombing originated from people on the ground at the race's finish line. They posted images of the explosions moments after the tragedy occurred. As well as spread the news, Twitter users unfortunately added to the confusion by posting and retweeting incorrect information.

8. The Virginia Earthquake

The Virigina earthquake spread on Twitter faster than many people felt the shocks in real life. "Tweets began pouring in from D.C. nearly 30 seconds before we felt the quake at our headquarters in New York City and well before any reports about the quake emerged from the media," Mashable reported at the time. Twitter later revealed that more than 40,000 earthquake-related tweets were sent within a minute of its occurrence.

We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.

9. The Official Twitter IPO Announcement

Finally, Twitter eschewed a traditional press release and chose its own platform to reveal it had filed initial paperwork to go public. The tweet, which went live Sept. 12, 2013, has to date been retweeted nearly 15,000 times.

These nine stories represent the power of citizen journalism, plus the business strategy behind using Twitter to share major news. Our list is by no means exhaustive, so please share in the comments below any other notable news stories you recall that broke on Twitter.

What's Hot

More in World

What's New

What's Rising

What's Hot

Mashable
is a leading global media company that informs, inspires and entertains the digital generation. Mashable is redefining storytelling by documenting and shaping the digital revolution in a new voice, new formats and cutting-edge technologies to a uniquely dedicated audience of 42 million monthly unique visitors and 24 million social followers.